‘Current account’ deficit decrease

IRELAND’s “current account” deficit continued to fall during the second quarter of this year, according to latest figures from the CSO; driven downwards by an increase in merchandise surplus.

The latest quarterly “balance of international payments” figures from the CSO – which measure the flow of income in and out of the economy – showed an overall current account deficit of €1.1 billion for the second three months of the year. This figure was down by about €500 million on the first quarter of the year and by €337m when measured on a year-on-year basis with the corresponding period in 2009.

The country’s merchandise surplus grew by nearly €800m to €9.8bn – on a year-on-year basis – during the second quarter; while its services deficit fell by more than €100m to just over €2.4bn.